The signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement between Mercosur and the European Union in June 2019 is a huge step towards deepening the interregional link. The countries of both blocs once again expressed their optimism regarding the ratification of the agreement and the possibilities it opens up for the future development of trade, investment and cooperation.
In this context, the seminar "Symposium 30 years of Mercosur: Trajectories, flexibilisation and interregionalism" organised by the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of the Republic of Uruguay, the German Institute for Global and Area Studies and the Fundación Carolina will be held from 7 to 9 September. Leading experts from Europe and Latin America on interregional relations between the two blocs, as well as high-level political representatives, civil society representatives and representatives of both regional organisations, have been invited to attend. The event will be divided into three parts: 30 years of Mercosur, Mersocur Flexibilisation and Mercosur-European Union Agreement.
The objective of the event is to gather and systematise information on the itinerary until the final approval of the agreement by all parties, highlighting the pitfalls and potentialities, which will serve for the development of future analyses of the current situation, and prospective exercises by academia, civil society and political and governmental actors.
This activity was selected in the framework of the Third Annual Call for co-financing events on topics relevant to the bi-regional partnership between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean 2020 of the EU-LAC Foundation.
The Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of the Republic of Uruguay (FCS - UdelaR), through the Department of Political Science and the International Studies Programme, as well as the German Institute for Global and Regional Studies (GIGA), have been two relevant academic actors in the systematic study of EU-Mercosur relations throughout the bi-regional trade negotiations held over the last decades.
